2013-2014 Academic Computing and Electronic Communication (ACEC)

Final Report

Committee Members

Chair: Sara Morris, Libraries (2014)

Vice Chair: Sam Lamb, Student
Faculty Senate Rep: Jeremy Martin, Mathematics (2014)
Perry Alexander, EECS (2015)
Allison Reeve, Wheat Law Library, (2015)
Eric Deeds, Bioinformatics (2016)
Graduate Student: Never Appointed
Paul Espinosa, IT, Unclassified Staff (2015)
Laura Green, Provost Office, Unclassified Staff (2014)

University Support Staff: Never Appointed
Paul Farran, KU Information Technology(Ex-officio)

Jane Rosenthal, Director, Privacy Office (Ex-officio)

Standing charges

  • Monitor current and proposed policy concerning security of information, intellectual property rights and responsibilities, and other matters relating to information technology. Identify issues for which policy should be developed or revised. Report issues and any recommendations for action to SenEx. (ongoing)

Specific charges

  1. Report to SenEx on issues in the of ACEC purview with respect to Changing for Excellence and Bold Aspirations. Reports should be sent by December 2, 2013 and April 1, 2014.
  2. Working together with RGS, create a recommendation on how Information Technology could better accommodate research. The following should be among the issues addressed
  3. Support
  4. Archival file storage
  5. Grant accommodation and development
  6. Monitor the continued progress in installation of the ubiquitous wireless initiative.
  7. Further study the issue of granting elevated rights to users if such rights are required by their positions. Working with Information Technology, develop a quantitative study including the extent of the problem, technical issues, documentation and recommended solutions for official adoption.
  8. Continue monitoring the progress of the “one campus” initiatives for IT such as “One Network” and “Single Identity.”

Specific Charges one and five are related to efforts included in Changing for Excellence (CFE) and will be addressed in this compilation of the program’s progress.

  • Server Centralization and Virtualization
  • In November this project was in Phase II and at 35% completion. By March of 2014 197 of the more than 800 servers had been centralized and now under the maintenance of KU IT.
  • Reorganize and Redefine IT
  • Focused on standardizing responsibilities. Various positions from across campus were changed to report to and be funded by IT. Newly established Technology Support Centers have brought employees with similar skills together.
  • As of March of 2014 6 Academic Units and 11 others have centralized IT staff.
  • Increase MFD Usage
  • Focused on decreasing the use and costs of desk-top printers. Centrally negotiated contracts for MFDs resulted in departments only being responsible for the cost of paper and the MFD lease. Use of MFDs in public labs has significantly decreased waste.
  • MFD usage increased 31% between from February 2013 to February 2014.
  • Requested Action
  • While MFDs decrease printing costs, they do little to deter printing. ACEC would encourage KU to provide employees with portable devices (i.e. devices that can easily be taken to meetings) and software that negate the need to print. Additionally, we encourage faculty members to accept assignments electronically. Such efforts would decrease costs and reinforce KU’s commitment to sustainability.
  • Public printers now default to duplex printing, however KU printing policies/prices have not been reviewed since this change. KU IT plans to work with Student Senate to review current printing policies in the near future. SenEx needs to be aware of any outcomes.
  • Leverage Software Purchasing
  • This aspect of CFE ended in August of 2013.
  • There is a committee made up of Deans and/or Dean’s designees making decisions concerning campus-wide licensing. ACEC members were not aware of this committee.
  • Requested Action
  • Members of the KU community need to know about this committee and formal procedures to recommend software for consideration must be established.
  • Network Optimization
  • Phase I was completed in the falland focused on eliminating overlapping IP addresses between KU Lawrence and KU Med.
  • Phase II focuses on implementing more shared networks between the campuses. Eventually this will result in one monitoring center for both campuses.
  • Single Identity Management System
  • Initial efforts focused on eliminating conflicting and duplicated identities between KU Lawrence and KU Med. Identities tied to medical records trumped those without. This phase ended in early 2014.
  • Now efforts have shifted to eliminating multiple identities associated with one individual.
  • Members of ACEC raised concerns related to identity management:
  • “A123B123” online IDs create many problems. Some examples are: they look unprofessional;lack of awareness concerning the availability of aliases; after individuals create an alias it is difficult to find their original online ID.
  • Many individuals at KU would like retain e-mail addresses that include their KU affiliation (i.e. math.ku.edu).
  • Requested Action
  • KU immediately discontinue the “A123B123” online IDs.
  • Increased promotion concerning the availability of aliases.
  • KU IT investigateif hosting ku.edu e-mail for students is worth the costs.

Specific Charge Two

  • ACEC did not specifically address this charge.
  • When discussed at our meetings, those who deal with this issue indicated that things in this area have improved.
  • There is concern about storage of data as required by some grant agencies. It is the thought of this committee that as KU IT and other units work to solve this problem that faculty/researchers need to be included in decisions.
  • KU Libraries has recently hired a data librarian who will be able to help with this charge.
  • Requested Action
  • 2014-2015 ACEC focus on this issue. In doing so they need to use a broad definition of data—one that extends well beyond large quantitative data files.

Specific Charge Three

  • Progress on the extension of wireless can be monitored at this website: Although efforts have focused on academic buildings, other areas of campus are also being upgraded. For example, all of Jayhawk Boulevard and Potter Lake have Wi-Fi.
  • KU has joined eduroam a global consortium of academic institutions that provide Wi-Fi to affiliates of members.

Specific Charge Four

  • ACEC spent the year focused on this charge as it has lingered for some time. Members of ACEC worked with individuals in KU IT and Faculty Rights, Privileges and Responsibilities Committee to create a solution.
  • It is the consensus of this group that faculty members do at times need elevated rights and users must be educated on when and when not to operate as an administrator.
  • We have submitted a policy to SenEx. This should apply to all KU Faculty, no matter who provides their IT support.
  • Requested Action
  • Review the Administrative Rights Policy submitted by ACEC for adoption.
  • Members of ACEC debated the need of an appeal process if chairs turn down faculty members. We decided we would ask SenEx to consider this issue.
  • If passed, there needs to be an effort to inform existing and new faculty of this procedure.

Other Concerns Raised by ACEC

  • Many members of the KU community chose to use alternative tools (i.e. Dropbox) to those provided by KU (i.e. HawkDrive). By doing so they are compromising security/privacy. Often members of the KU community purchase software/applications on their own because it is easier than using those provided by KU.

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